Daniel Froehlich, President
Christine Southwick, Vice President
Cindy Easterson, Secretary
Susan Ford, Treasurer
Mark Columbino
Donald Norman, Past Vice President
Suzanne Tomassi
Ben Vang-Johnson
Daniel Froehlich, President
Daniel Froehlich, raised both in Germany and the US, is a highly experienced ornithologist. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Carleton College and is currently working toward a PhD in Zoology at the University of Washington studying molt, plumage, feather wear, and life history strategies. He is a master bander and a banding trainer certified by the North American Banding Council; he was program coordinator for the Institute for Bird Populations’ Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program and program director for the Institute’s Bander Training Program. He has participated in banding projects throughout the USA and in Europe, Siberia, Africa, Australia, and Central America. He is also starting a conservation center in the Peruvian Amazon (CECCOT).
Christine Southwick, Vice President
Since 1994, Chris’ yards have been registered both with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary, and with the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Habitat Program. She has planted a variety of native berried shrubs/trees that provide some sort of food for birds in every season. For additional winter food, she leaves the flower heads until spring. Chris keeps her garden organic and lets the birds and beneficial bugs eat all the pests they want, resulting in an arrangement that makes both the humans residents and visiting wildlife happy. Chris also belongs to several land conservancies and has helped plant hundreds of trees and pulled hundreds of pounds of ivy. In Shoreline, she has worked on the successful Save the South Woods campaign, and she continues to speak at City Council meetings. She is also on the committee to have the City of Shoreline certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat, and writes a recurring column for the Shoreline Area News.
Chris took a banding class taught by Dan Froehlich and Don Norman in 2003, and has been helping with various banding projects ever since, including the three MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) stations located south of Tacoma, and PSBO’s current winter color banding project, for which she serves as Project Manager. Her yard is one of the main banding sites for that project.
See also Why I Band Birds
Cindy Easterson, Secretary
Bio coming soon.
Susan Ford, Treasurer
Susan is a Licensed and Registered Veterinary Technician, and has worked with companion animals and wildlife since 1997. She is also a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator in the State of Washington, and has gained experience working directly with passerines and raptors as a rehabilitator and a Veterinary Technician. Throughout her career, Susan has worked and volunteered with many nonprofit organizations, including Guide Dogs for the Blind, Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue, and West Sound Wildlife Shelter. She is also the founder and president of Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project, a nonprofit organization that helps aid in the recovery of Western and Mountain Bluebirds in the western Puget Sound region. Susan holds a Bachelors Degree in Music from the University of Pacific in Stockton, CA, and an Associates Degree of Science in Veterinary Technology from Carrington College in Sacramento, CA.
Mark Columbino
Mark Colombino has been involved in the birding community in Puget Sound for a number of years. He has assisted on numerous MAPS banding projects here in the Puget Sound, and also in southern Arizona mistnetting grassland sparrow species. He studied geology and mathematics in college but now spends most of his time now building exhibits for museums in the Seattle area. Formerly a Peace Corps volunteer, he woefully regrets all the birds he missed seeing in the Niger River Delta…so many birds…so little time…
Donald Norman, Past Vice President
Donald Norman has a background in environmental toxicology and wildlife ecology that is based on strong empirical approaches using monitoring methods. Don brings a strong background in wildlife conservation in the Pacific Northwest, an understanding of Critical Area Ordinances and Washington’s Growth Management Act, and a familiarity with development mediation issues. He has worked on numerous bird projects relating to the management of priority species identified by Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife and is involved in many wildlife and mitigation projects in the urban zone. As an active member of numerous conservation organizations, he has excellent working relationships with the conservation community. He is also involved in restoration projects, is a licensed Master Bander and owns his own native plant nursery. Don has operated a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship bird-banding station since 1996 in the Fort Lewis area and has operated a Breeding Bird Survey route since 1993 on the outer coast.
Suzanne Tomassi
Suzanne Tomassi, MSc, has been a professional wildlife biologist for 15 years. She has banded songbirds and raptors and studied nest depredation in Borneo, Peninsula Malaysia, Ecuador, Canada, and throughout the U.S. She manages a MAPS station at the Morse Reserve in Pierce County. Other current projects include defining and characterizing links for a forested corridor in the Choco rainforests of Ecuador and Columbia, and identifying and delineating Ecologically Significant Areas for regulation and possible RAMSAR classification in Mauritius, Africa.
Ben Vang-Johnson
Ben Vang-Johnson has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Professional Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He currently works as a GIS Analyst for an environmental and engineering consulting firm. Prior to becoming a GIS Analyst, Ben held numerous seasonal wildlife positions for various organizations. He has worked on research projects that investigated such topics as raptor migration, ferruginous hawk nesting ecology, west nile virus in song birds and screech owls, salmonid migration in relation to hydro-power dams, and wolf behavior in Yellowstone National Park. Ben has been banding birds since 2002, and currently volunteers with PSBO’s winter color banding, MAPS, and Banding Camp projects.
